(Sacramento) Equality California is pleased to announce its sponsorship of seven bills for the 2014 legislative session that would improve equality for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender Californians from cradle to grave.

“These bills touch on every aspect of life, from birth through school, doctor’s visits, marriage, even respect after death — all the major milestones of life,” said John O’Connor, EQCA executive director. “With this package of bills, we’re moving from a focus on marriage equality to full equality.”

Protect students: SB 840, authored by Senator Ricardo Lara, moves forward on recommendations from 2013’s statewide audit on school safety and nondiscrimination laws, to hold schools accountable for documenting responses to bullying and referring students to appropriate services.

End youth group discrimination: SB 323, the Youth Equality Act, authored by Lara, is a two-year bill introduced in 2013. The bill clarifies that nonprofit youth organizations will only be rewarded with special tax exemptions if they comply with California’s existing nondiscrimination laws.

Clean up marriage language: SB 1306, authored by Senator Mark Leno, brings California statutory law into line with last June’s Supreme Court decision restoring the freedom to marry in California. References to “husband” and “wife” would be replaced with gender-neutral language such as “spouse” to recognize all married couples throughout California code.

End the “panic” defense: AB 2501, authored by Assemblymember Susan Bonilla, would eliminate the so-called “gay panic” and “trans panic” defenses, outrageous tactics used by defendants who claim their violent acts were triggered by the victim’s sexual orientation or gender identity.

Ensure accurate death certificates: AB 1577, the Respect After Death Act, authored by Assemblymember Toni Atkins, would make sure death certificates for transgender Californians accurately reflect their authentic, lived identity.

As these bills touch on major life milestones, passing these bills would be a milestone for EQCA. Over the past 16 years, EQCA has worked hard to move California from a state with extremely limited protections for LGBT people to the state with the most advanced protections in the country. With a total of 96 bills passed prior to the 2014 session, passing these seven would bring that total to 103, making EQCA the first LGBT advocacy organization to pass more than 100 bills.

Equality California (EQCA) is the largest statewide lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender advocacy organization in California. For more than a decade, Equality California has strategically moved California from a state with extremely limited legal protections for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people to a state with some of the most comprehensive human rights protections in the nation. Equality California has partnered with legislators to successfully sponsor 96 pieces of pro-equality legislation. EQCA continues to advance equality through legislative advocacy, electoral work, public education and community empowerment. www.eqca.org